The Children of the Flock
by puddingtalk
Summary: The Flock's kids are some of the many experiments existing in the post apocalyptic world Max left them with. But instead of saving the world their purpose is to save themselves from dying of starvation/dehydration. So when the new flock goes on a mission to steal water, they find a secret that will change the world forever.
1. Chapter 1

Ree dreamt of fire.

She dreamt f the very fire that engulfed her last prison cell, The Camp.

"RUN!"

She was six when she escaped.

The flames snaked up vines and the dry leaves that littered the forest floor.

She did it guiding the children of the flock.

Smoke filled her lungs.

Flame, Di, Chas, Scout and baby Em. Those were the ones who escaped.

Don't stop. Almost to the Main Road.

Embers flew like fireflies into the dark, starless sky.

Don't stop. Keep running.

Don't stop.

Ree sat straight up, panting, and sweat rolling down her pale white face. Sunlight streamed into her face. The rare sound of birds chirping filled the dead silence.

She gave her surroundings on last look before she realized she wasn't at The Camp.

Ree gave out a sigh of relief.

Fucking Camp.

Giving her nightmares.

"I suppose that's my punishment for escaping," she told her herself as she got up from the dirt floor.

She and the five of her "siblings" were settled in under an abandoned house in the country, where it was closet to food.

Well, not meat, since most of the animals were extinct, but crops and Vitapills.

And water.

Like swine, the six of them migrated to wherever the water was, and the water was in the country.

Ree shook her head bitterly at what the world had come to. She looked around the makeshift campsite, and did a quick role count.

There was Flame, his back towards her.

Ree gave him a resentful look. Flame was one of her "siblings" from The Camp. He was very tall, and at least a year older than Ree. No one knew his real age.

He was the color of dark chocolate, and resembled his mother a great deal.

He had his long arm draped lovingly over Em.

Ree felt warmth touch her heart.

There was her baby. Her tomboy-like, ten year old baby. She loved her as with much devotion as did her mother love her 'sister.'

But Em wasn't a backstabbing bitch, or an evil six year old.

Ree's warmth suddenly turned to boiling rage. She quickly turned to count the rest, but knowing it was useless and that they were all there.

Lying closest to the fire was Em's brother Chas, whose blond hair fell over his beautiful turquoise eyes. He was the most handsome of the group, and the most energetic. Most of the time, he was always the one to wake up the earliest.

Ree smiled.

"But I beat him to it," she thought.

There was Scout, who slept with the sleeping bag covering his head to his toes. It was a nervous habit, his older sister had told Ree.

Ree shook her head at the silly excuse.

Scout was always her little trooper, her loyal companion. He had curly black hair and a very round face. He was about twelve. She loved him dearly, although she would never show it.

Across him was his big sister Di.

She had straight wispy red hair, and pale skin that was often sunburned from traveling during the day. She had gray eyes, the opposite of Scout's, which were a vibrant blue.

Di was the spitting image of her father. And she was not the only one.

Ree herself resembled nothing of her mother, which she was glad of.

Instead, she was the girl form of her famous father, Fang.


	2. Chapter 2

The first Flock had separated yeas ago, mostly because they were too old to depend on each other anymore, and for a while, mutants were treated like equals. So Max moved on, deciding that the world was safe.

But she was wrong.

The Flock thought that they took care of Itex. But they couldn't have imagined the monster the left to grow.

Nudge was twenty when Jamar Hodge was born. The first child of the Flock, currently known as Flame, No Last Name.

A few months later, Iggy and Ella had Elizabeth Griffeths (Di), and after that came Ree, daughter of Fang and Max. All of them were born in the same year. Next came Chas, son of Max II and Dylan and not long after that, Iggy had another child named Thomas (Scout). The last child belonged to Max II, and her name was Emma.

When Emma was born, Itex decided to carry out the Master Plan: A mutant army would overthrow the president, and would create a dictatorship, led by one of Max's creators: Marian Janssen.

Children where taken away and abducted on a mammoth scale, the flock's included, and soon they had created an army so massive that it doubled the President's.

The recruits were kept in a place called The Camp, a more terrifying version of The School.

Ree was six years old when she escaped it.

She shook her head, not wanting to relive those moments. Especially the moment when they cut her wings off.

Her beautiful, ebony wings, just like her fathers… cut off.

Ree closed her eyes.

The rest of the kids didn't have wings either, instead they had… other abilities.

Ree picked up her emergency pack to distract herself from the horrible memories. She rummaged through it, hoping to find something other than Vitapills to eat.

Rope, gauze, a cup, a hunter's knife, a rubber band, a white tank top, a plastic bag of Vitapills and half a bottle of water is what she found.

Half a bottle of water… Ree paled and threw her pack on the floor, picking up Flame's.

An apple, an unfrozen ice pack, a book, another cup, and insect repellent.

No water.

Flame always carries water… Ree picked up the rest of the packs.

She found no water but the one she had. Panic surged through her body. Half a bottle of water would not last them.

"GET UP!" she shouted. Four groans were all heard at once.

"Come on Ree," Di rubbed her eyes.

"Give me five more minutes…" Em buried her head in her arms.

"Man, you suck," Chas sat up reluctantly.

"Are we caught again?" Scout looked around frantically, his black hair suffering from bedhead.

Ree threw her pack at Flame, who didn't budge.

"Huh?" he looked up confused.

"Where the hell is our water?" Ree demanded, getting straight to the point.

A guilty silence followed, except Ree could have sworn she heard a soft: "and good morning to you too," from Chas.

"This," she held up the bottle, "is what we have left. Why didn't you guys tell me we were dry?"

Another silence followed.

"You were under so much stress, we didn't want to add to your problems-" Em mumbled

"Water is the root of the problem," she said, "I don't want to scare you guys, but remember Zero?"

Everyone nodded. Zero was part of the flock for a long time, and was supposedly the son of Rachet and Star. He was normal, until The Camp enhanced him to have the ability to turn invisible.

"Well, he didn't die of malaria. He died of dehydration. That mean he was so thirsty he died,"

"We know what dehydration means," muttered Flame

"Shut up!" Ree spat, "the point is _we _could end Zero. Dying for a stupid reason," she paused, "and I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather die fighting Itex,"

There was a small pause. A smile slowly grew on Scout's face as he stood himself up, saluting to Ree. Ree smiled back as the rest of the flock did the same.

"What's your plan?" Di said.

A promise Ree had made to herself burned like an iron in the back of her mind.

Don't be like Max. Don't ever, leave the flock.

But that's what she had to do. She had to risk it. She took a deep breath.

"I have a plan," she said carefully, "but it involves only two of you,"


	3. Chapter 3

There was immediate silence. Ree glanced around the campsite, spotting Em biting her lip and Scout looking down; as if he knew he wasn't coming. Ree waited for a response. She got none, so she continued.

"I choose this campsite because it is close a desalination center. A big one. If I bring all of you, we could get separated and most likely captured. Children are a rare sight, especially ones without adults. So this mission is covert; we steal the water, and get out. No killing, no destruction. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded, except Flame.

"I need Em as a warning signal and Chas just in case anything goes wrong. Flame and Scout, stay here and DON'T follow me. Di, try if you can heal thirst,"

"But that's-" she started.

"Just try. Itex made you to heal diseases and wounds that could have never been healed before. If you can heal broken bones or cancer, I'm sure you can handle a little thirst," Ree said.

"But why can't I come? I can be a lookout," Scout looked at Ree with his sparkling blue eyes. Ree was brought back to when he could hardly walk, and how he would give her the same look when he wanted something. Ree almost melted.

Almost.

"Em is my lookout. I would bring you, but three people are already a handicap. Watch after Di and Flame for me. They need to be looked after," she smiled and rubbed his messy black hair. When she looked up from Scout's bright blue eyes, she found Flame crossing his arms.

"Gazzy wouldn't have left us," he said darkly.

Ree felt a pain in her heart at the sound of their ex-leader's name. A memory of him teaching her how to make time bombs flashed in her mind. That was memory she would never let go, for something like that would never happen again. She bit her lip, trying not to show emotion.

"Gazzy is dead," she said simply.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She didn't want to talk with Flame anymore. She was ready. She turned to Em and Chas.

"Grab your things. We leave now,"

* * *

><p>It was a rare sight to see forest. Ree guessed it was the last bit in the United States, but even this little bit of it was dying. Half the trees were eaten by acid rain and the soil below them stank of fallen smog. The sun was shining dimly in a gray sky, illuminating what was left of the leaves on the trees.<p>

America is a disgrace, Ree thought bitterly as she stepped over a rotting log. She was just behind Chas, who was always running ahead. Em paced slowly behind, her footsteps not making a sound.

As she walked, thoughts kept piling on top of one another, until mountains and mountains of thoughts ran across her mind.

Would we reach it in time? Would we get caught? Probably. And near the desalination center would be other thieves, but would these people turn on us, or help us? And if they did help us, they would want something in return...

An hour of trekking through the woods and troubling thoughts finally came to an end when Ree bumped into Em, who was standing awestruck next to her brother.

She blinked twice and was about to ask Em what was going on, when she saw it.

Ree, Em and Chas had reached the end of a steep cliff, in which rocks and trash tumbled down below. Wind blew the trio's hair back, which brought a sudden coolness that contrasted the sweat that stuck to their bodies.

Ree felt new again, and for a minute forgot what the whole point of coming there was.

That is, until she saw was what was awaiting them down below.

Thousands and thousands of people surrounding a huge white dome, which surely held water. The dome had to be the biggest building she's ever seen, not even the Camp came close. Compared to the dome, the men were the ants, and the dome was a loaf of bread. Just the pure enormity of amazed Ree.

But the second thing that amazed her was the amount of people. Ree couldn't believe there could be so many; she thought Itex limited the population. Not a single space was left unguarded, wherever there was an empty space, someone immediately filled it in.

"We are fucked," Chas breathed


	4. Chapter 4

Flame paced around the campus, trying to control his anger. He mumbled things to himself like, "the stubborn pig" or "stupid bitch". Di sighed next to her younger brother. She knew she wasn't coming either. After all, Di was just a first aid kit. The aspirin. The morphine.

The healer.

And Ree did bring the two with the more important powers, and for the first time, she didn't bring Flame. No wonder he was angry.

She sighed dreamily. He was very attractive when he was angry. Very.

Her little brother gave her a look, as if he knew what she was thinking. But she didn't care. Everyone except Ree and Flame himself knew that she was in love with him.

"Ree will kill you when she finds out you love him," he whispered.

"She won't kill me, she'll just be very angry," she said back, smiling.

The one of many statements Gazzy had told them was to never, ever fall in love. Gazzy had seen what love could do.

And it was not a pretty picture.

He told the kids that Max had lost the willingness to live when Fang died. She said she was nothing without him, just half a person. But Max knew she was needed in the world, she was essential for the world's rebirth.

So she didn't kill herself.

She ran away.

Di remembered how serious twenty-five year old Gazzy looked when he told the flock that. That was until; he farted so loud that Scout and Chas actually ducked for cover, thinking it was a bomb alarm. Di giggled slightly at the memory, earning herself a even stranger look from Scout.

Gazzy had told them to never fall in love. And Ree carried out this rule, as did everyone else in the flock. But Di couldn't help herself, Flame was too irresistible. His extreme tallness, the five pack, the dark, yummy, color of his skin.

And his eyes.

Di once remarked on how beautiful they were to Em, but she looked Di like something was wrong with her.

"They're brown," she said, stating the obvious.

But Di saw more than that. They were a mahogany with black and yellow flecks. They were beautiful, just like his mother's.

"So in other words… they're brown," Em said surely.

Di sighed. If only Ree would break that one rule. Maybe she would tell her about her love for him and try to convince her. But Ree wasn't there.

She was on an extremely important mission that could determine the life or death of the flock.

Why wasn't she ever here when Di needed her?

Suddenly, a thought struck her so suddenly that she nearly fell backwards onto the dirt ground. Ree wasn't here.

She was free.


	5. Chapter 5

Em stood speechless with her brother and Ree as a soft wind blew her unruly hair back. Looking at the possibility of even stepping foot in the area of the dome (which was slim to none), there was no way to get the water now.

No way.

She swallowed, her throat already parched. It was not a good idea to keep the water supply a secret from Ree. In fact, they should have told her the real reason the water was gone.

Poison.

She remembered Scout handing her his bottle of water they had a couple of days earlier, asking her if it smelled ok. Everyone asked her this; she was like their extra safety measure. And Scout was always neurotic about things like that, so she almost ignored him.

Thank whatever god there was she didn't.

She recalled snatching the bottle from him and rolling her eyes as she twisted the cap that held their precious life source. She held the silver bottle up to her nose and took in its scent.

Bitter, sharp, unknown.

She remembered recoiling from the stench, and dropping the bottle with wide eyes.

"Where did you get this?" she had asked him.

"The house we stole from a few days ago, you know the emergency bottles in their shed. Em, let go of me!"

Em was squeezing his hand tighter with every word that he said. A realization had hit her like a ton of bricks.

Someone had purposely poisoned the water to get rid of the unsuspecting Experiment that would drink it.

Em remembered telling Flame first. He grabbed her by the wrists and told her to tell the others, just not Ree; who was the only one that took the risk of stealing inside the house.

"Why?" Em asked him; a feeling of shock, betrayal and confusion all present in her expression. Ree was their leader. If anyone, she should be the one to know about it.

She recalled Flame's fists getting warmer as she looked into his brown eyes (note the word 'brown'; not mahogany with black and yellow flecks).

"Ree is fueled on revenge on Itex. Her rage became even greater after Zero died. And if she figured out that people are purposely poisoning water… she will stop at nothing to take them down,"

There was a long pause before Em gave him the same look she gave Di when she told her that she loved Flame. She looked at him square in the eyes before telling him:

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard,"

Well apparently it wasn't, because the rest of the team listened to Flame's reasoning and voted not to tell Ree.

Em breathed deeply. Thanks to her team's stupidity, now she risked getting her brother and Ree killed.

She hated keeping secrets.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this took so long (the whole "school" thing). i won't be switching so much in between characters much, don't worry, it's too much work. it will mostly be Ree, and don't worry, action is coming soon!<strong>

**OK, the real reason i wrote down here is because i want to... *drumroll*...:**

**hear you guy's guesses on what Ree, Scout, Flame, Em and Chas's powers are. **

**You'll have to take a random guess at Ree's and Scout's, but i inserted some clues about the others :) (they might not be good clues though)**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, i look forward to your responses. Peace out you guys! Don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

If Ree were to come up with a plan, it would most likely end up in explosions, bullets and whole lot of running away. So much for covert, she thought. Ree exhaled, and took in her surroundings for the last time.

The dome was settled on concrete floor, which surrounded it until the very edge of the forest. The walls looked about five feet thick, and where supported by metal ballasts. Just like any other desalination center, the ocean rolled close by, long tubes taking in the gray water by the second. Ree was confused by the simplicity of it. Gazzy told them of giant filters, evaporators and pipes leading everywhere; not just one big dome. Ree had came to the conclusion that maybe those things were under the dome, but what was the sense in that? She had to think of something later, for her next problem was soon to come.

"Em, you have the best vision out of the three of us. See were the least amount of guards are," Ree said. Em nodded, and continued to gaze at the dome. Ree studied Em. Em seemed to have something on her mind, something that was keeping her on edge. Oh well. Ree would have to find out later.

"You came up with something?" Chas asked, looking sick.

Ree nodded. There was a silence.

"Well... do you want to tell us what it is?" Chas sounded annoyed, but his faced revealed that he was not ready for her plan at all.

"I will tell you, just wait, you impatient little-"

"Ree, there are only six soldiers by a black water truck on the left side of the dome. Do you see?" Em pointed to her left, showing off her thin yet muscular arm.

Ree squinted her black eyes. Pretty much all of the flock had inherited raptor vision from their parents, but for some reason Em had a bigger advantage than Flame, Ree, Chas and Di. Not Scout though. No one could surpass Scout's vision, which they found extremely ironic considering his father was blind.

Ree indeed did see few soldiers by the area Em pointed to. But she also saw that they carried bigger guns than all the other soldiers. Ree bit her lip. That area would has to do. She turned to her "siblings".

"Listen. If you two don't follow my exact instructions, you will end up dead," she locked eyes with Em and Chas. They both gulped, and began to listen to Ree's plan about how they would steal an entire water truck.

* * *

><p>Nerves bit at the core of Ree's stomach. She breathed heavily as the faint sound of voices came into her range. She was so close.<p>

So close.

She hoped with desperation that Chas remembered what to do. She wasn't worried about Em, the only worry was if she stayed in the same-  
>Suddenly, as if snapping her out of a trance, the sound of a cricket chirping filled the air. Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!<br>Silence.  
>Three. That was Chas' signal.<br>Ree ran to edge of the forest, where the dome lay. She didn't care that she was stepping on every dry leaf and twig there was, she needed to get there as fast as she could. Her heart raced as the dome walls and a black water truck bumped into her view.

She came just in time to see the look on the soldier's faces as a flash of blond whipped past them.

The soldiers looked at each other, than looked down at their hands.

Chas had left them unarmed.


	7. Chapter 7

The flashback with Ree and him when they were walking down to their positions kept repeating in Chas's mind. He wanted it out, but he knew her damn words would stick with him the entire day.

_"If you are chased Chas, you know what to do." Ree told him gravely. Chas did know what to do, but a small nagging thought kept forming in his mind. He felt silly for thinking it, but for some reason he couldn't get the thought out of his mind. His stomach churned as he began to tell Ree._

_"Ree, I haven't ran in-"_

_"Your power will stay with you Chas, no matter how months you went without using it,"_

_Chas stared at her shocked. How did she know that that was he was thinking?_

_"I have been thinking the same thing," she looked off at the dome, and back at him, "but I realized that it is impossible. We were built to have these powers until death, even if we don't use them often,"_

_Horrified, Chas felt his heart drop. He loved his power! How could he feel disappointment about loosing it? But then again... the nonstop moving, the constant hiding, the scrounging for food... if he were a regular human, he wouldn't have to be doing any of that, or what he was about to do in a few minutes._

_"I-"_

_"Think of the chase as a race, Chas. You loved those. Even in the camp when the soldiers would place bets on when you raced with other experiments, like you were some kind of animal, you enjoyed it. I could see it in your face. But Chas, those soldiers didn't kill you if you lost. What you are about to do is like a race not worth losing. You will run as fast as you can, for the prize is your life. If you loose, the penalty is death,_"

His palms felt sweaty, and he suddenly felt fear grasp his heart. He couldn't do this. No, no he couldn't.

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

As soon a Chas heard the third chirp, all the traces of fear left him, and cloud of dirt formed behind him as he shot literally as fast a a bullet toward the unsuspecting soldiers.

Chas was someone else when he was running. It always felt like the world was slowing, and he was the only thing moving. He loved that feeling, whatever it was.

The blurs of the few soldiers that guarded the car that Ree was after came into his vision like slow moving blobs of colors. He thrust his arms forward, and the burn of friction scrapped against his upper arms as the guns slid one by one into his arms.

He didn't stop there.

At full speed, he u-turned in the direction of Ree. Smoke and dirt flew in the back of him, he forced the physics that brought him forward to obey him. He gained his footing and dropped a gun by Ree's feet.

He kept running, knowing stopping would be suicidal. His heart raced as he pumped his legs towards the cliff side, where Ree told him to destroy the guns before he could be seen.

Suddenly, at the corner of his eye, something flashed into his blurred vision, and then left. Chas knew what it was immediately.  
>A bullet.<br>If it was possible, his heart rate went even higher. Fear came back again, however he didn't stop, but he did look back.  
>A few feet behind him, a soldier dressed in navy blue that contrasted with the green of his comrades was gaining his footing as fast as Chas was. He had slick black hair tucked under a blue hat, and eyes hidden from what looked like a black pair of safety goggles. And in the blue soldier's hands was a machine gun.<p>Chas nearly threw up when he saw how fast the other runner was catching up. He looked forward, suddenly remembering Ree's words.<p>

_"What you are about to do is like a race not worth losing. You will run as fast as you can, for the prize is your life. If you loose, the penalty is death," _

The sound of the blue soldier advancing and at Chas to stop made Chas grin. This guy thought he was fast. He swerved into the forest.  
>Well, they would have to see who was the faster runner in the end. For if either of them won, the prize is life. And if either of them lost, the penalty is death.<p><p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Ree picked up the gun Chas had dropped by her feet. It wasn't cold in her arms, like it had been the first time she used it. In fact, it was rather warm. It was, she realized with horror…

Inviting.

Right then, Ree positioned the gun in her arms, and shot all six of the guards in the kink of their 'bulletproof' uniforms.

Immediately, bullets from other soldiers went off. She ran from hiding spot, gun still in her arms, and toward the black truck.

Her legs pumped across the clearing, but not before a blur just like Chas's blows her backward.

She glanced quickly the blur's way, her heart speeding. Chas was in danger.

"Get her!"

_Bap! Bap! Bap!_

Her expression turned into panic as she scrambled to get up. But it was too late.

Perfectly aimed bullets flew toward her.

She closed her eyes.

A sensation came over her, as if goose bumps were covering every part of her body. Her cells seemed to slow, and, for just a moment, her heart froze. A clear, gossamer tone spread over her Caucasian skin and her wrinkled clothes.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"SHE'S AN EXPERIMENT!"

Soldier's shouts seemed to quietly overcome her thoughts as perfectly aimed bullets flew _through _her.

So her power did work after all those months. Imagine that.


	9. Chapter 9

The power of phasing.

What a stupid, useless power. It wasn't stupid when you could use it on others, but Ree had to concentrate her hardest to even phase someone's hand. She ached to have something useful. But as she stood herself up off the dirt ground (not phasing the bottoms of her feet), she smiled as a shower of bullets went through her.

She…was invincible.

Ree left the gun on the floor and ran like her life depended on it towards the black truck.

* * *

><p>Em sat at the top of the nearly leafless treetop that overlooked the desalination center. She saw the magnificence of its power, the symbol of hope. Looking at it from that height was amazing. She wondered if what she was feeling now was how Max felt when she was that high. She wondered if Max ever felt like she was ruling the world.<p>

A quick breeze coated her body like water. She shivered and looked out once again for the signal.

Em scanned the concrete area around the dome. When her eyes wandered to the left side, a seemly clear, see-through figure was dashing towards the black water truck.

Ree.

Em's eyes widened as Ree paused, and jumped literally through the painted black metal of the water truck. Em's heart nearly stopped beating as a hoard of soldiers came to gather around the truck. _Come on Ree, _she thought.

The truck roared to life, and jerked forward so fast that four soldiers were ran over in the process. Em's heart clenched. She felt like throwing up.

_For our own survival, we must kill._

If she could cry, she would have. But the truck was moving now. She would have to tell the others. She shook her body, and jumped off the tree.


	10. Chapter 10

Number 10672 trudged through the forest, her feet screaming in pain. She had been chased for days ever since she escaped the Camp. Her green, prison-like uniform was tattered, ripped and stained with the blood of her comrade. Her dark, brown skin was scarred from the thorns and bushes that nearly tore her apart. She was malnourished, starving, and mostly… dehydrated.

She lifted her dented silver bottle out of her small pack and looked inside the dark hole.

A drop.

She pathetically stuck out her tongue and tipped the bottle forward. A clear droplet of water held on to rim of the bottle. She tapped on the back of it desperately, and it fell onto her crackled tongue. Not satisfying. Not at all.

Number 10672 looked up at the sky. God had been thought as nonexistent for many years, but she prayed. She prayed, because she had absolutely nothing else. She wanted to live.

She wanted to live.

And then she saw it. Right off a tall tree near a cliff side, a small dot flew into the gray sky.

A…bird!

She immediately reached into her pack and pulled out a small, white pill. Her last Vita-pill. She popped it in her mouth and swallowed, feeling immediate replenishment. She knew now that she had enough energy for at least eighteen hours. She would need it, because if that bird wasn't a sign, than she might as well be damned.

Number 10672 sprinted off, chasing what she didn't know was Em, who was heading to her campsite.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Sorry the chapters are so short now. But now you know that Em can change into any animal she wants, as long as she's seen it before.<strong>

** Pretty please review, even if the chapters are a little confusing now. I really want to hear your opinions, so i can make it better. :) Thanks for viewing! **


	11. Chapter 11

Flame was sitting up so straight that it looked as if he had a metal rod holding his back up instead of a spine. He was staring at the ground so intensely that Di and Scout were half convinced he was trying to burn a hole in the dirt with his mind. Di found his pose very amusing; for he would sit like that for hours and hours without moving an inch, like some kind of freaky robot.

Di scooted close to Flame. She put her elbows on her knees, and gave him a dreamy smile. Flame flicked his eyes over her uncomfortably, then continued to stare at the ground. Di stifled a giggle.

"Hey Scout," Di called over to him, "why don't you climb up a tree and go on a lookout?"

Scout gave her the dirtiest look he could manage.

"I almost broke my arm last time I tried to climb a tree,"

"Well it's a good thing your sister is a healer, right?" she smiled at him spitefully, "just do it. You never know. You could see something useful,"

Scout knew what his dumb sister was trying to do. But he also knew that if he refused to go, Di would go ahead and kiss Flame anyways. And he did not want to be there to witness it.

Scout grumbled as he stalked off to a safe-ish looking tree to climb. The tree didn't have pointed bark that was splitting off, and it kind of had branches he could grab. He stood on his tiptoes, struggling to grab the closest branch he could reach. Unlike Di, Scout did not inherit his father's tall genes. As he continued to struggle, he suddenly felt strong hands grab his waist. He was lifted into the air, and was almost thrown onto the branch. He looked down to see Flame, expressionless.

"One day, there will be an emergency where you will need to climb a tree. And we won't be there to help you. Keep that in mind," Flame said. He walked away.

Scout felt his face burn. Flame was so weird sometimes. He shook his head, and continued with much labor to climb the tree.

* * *

><p>"Oh my, look, here we are, alone together at last," Di boldly leaned into Flame's chest.<p>

Flame felt his body temperature skyrocket.

"What are you doing." He stood still as a statue, staring down at her like he had grown a bird out of his chest.

"What?" Di backed away, "I'm just taking advantage of the time we have together. Is that too bad?"

"I don't think you want me to answer that question,"

"What! Why are you always such a... what's that old word? A grouch I think. You're such a grouch. It can't hurt to lighten up a bit," she smiled at him.

Flame looked over at her. Di saw the faintest smile on his lips as he leaned in closer.

"Define 'lighten up'."

"All I mean is just let your guard down a little bit. Tell a joke. Something!" She giggled.

"If I let my guard down, who knows what you might do to me."

Di leaned into Flame's face.

"I think that's exactly what you want,"

With that, Di planted a kiss on Flame's burning mouth.

* * *

><p>Scout was mortified. He had heard almost half of the conversation between Flame and Di. He climbed the tree with more rigor, because nothing was better motivation than escaping the playful flirtation between Flame and his sister. Sick.<p>

His limbs burned and ached. He was used to running, but any other form of physical labor was done by Ree, Flame, Di or Chas. The rest of the group never had to undergo any of The Camp's intense physical military training, so they weren't as buff or street smart. Sweat trailed down his arms and face.

_This_, he panted, _is not fun_.

And as if a god was watching out for him, a few minutes later he saw the tip of the tree, highlighted by the sun. He grimaced as he pulled himself up to the last stable branches. He lifted his head, and the took in the view.

The sky was a pale blue, with no clouds in sight. The sun blazed across the trees and reflected off the ocean, which was a dark gray. He could see the desalination center, and the chaos surrounding it. He looked closer.

His vision zoomed in like binoculars, and slowly focused on a black pickup truck, crashing into the wall of the gigantic dome. He willed his eyes to look closer, and barely caught sight of Ree inside of it. Her body was thrown on the impact, and on instinct she phased through the truck and into the wall.

_Whoa. Did she mean to do that?_

Scout set his eyes back to the normal 30-20 vision he prefered. He bit his lip, concerned for Ree and the others. But he quickly assumed that they knew what they were doing, and decided to scan the forest, just in case.

He slowly blinked. Suddenly, all around him were blurs of blue, yellow, red, and green. He had set his eyesight to thermal vision.

Scout figured it was his best shot at spotting something worthwhile through the trees. He, regretfully, started at the bottom of the tree, then expanded his thermal vision outward.

His eyes almost immediately scanned over Di and Flame, two bodies who's colors were red hot (especially Flame's). He convulsed; the two were kissing like people who were fighting to get food out of each other's mouths. He made a face of disgust and made sure to pass over them as quickly as he could.

For about fifteen minutes, nothing had changed. He didn't spot any bodies, besides a deer that was carefully marching through the leaves. He almost jumped up and down with excitement when he spotted it, but he remembered that he was precariously balanced on a tree branch. He stood still, but he continued to smile. He couldn't wait to tell Ree.

Suddenly, there it was.

A human body, trudging through the forest.

He blinked slowly, and willed his brain to change back to normal. He zoomed in through the trees, and trained his sight on the intruder.

It was a girl.

She looked about 14 years old, and she had the same color skin as Flame's. Her short hair was pulled back in cornrows that had twigs, leaves, and mud clung to them. She was so thin, her arms looked like sticks in a uniform that was probably once her perfect fit. Scout saw that she looked malnourished, starved and most of all dehydrated. This girl was not a threat. She needed help, and Scout was sure that Ree and the others would agree.

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><p><strong>It was strange, I was just watching TV and I kind of stood up and decided I would continue to write this. Kind of a spur of the moment type of thing. <strong>

**Anywho, here it is, after a gazillion years of ignoring it. I will continue to update, and I'll try to not let you guys hanging. **

**Thanks for reviewing! :D **


	12. Chapter 12

Chas sped through the forest, leaves and twigs flying behind his legs. Every tree, every log, every obstacle was blurred. His eyes watered as debris and bugs aimed straight into his eyes.

No wonder all the speedy superheroes in the old comics wear goggles, he thought, as tears formed at the corner of his eyes. He wiped them away, and continued to run at the speed of sound through the forest.

He didn't know where he was going, or how he was going to get his pursuer off his back. He didn't dare slow down and look behind him, because he had a feeling the blue soldier was not far behind. Chas needed a new tactic, and he needed it soon.

He turned as sharply as he could manage, grasses and small trees being torn up behind him in the process. From the corner of his eye he saw the soldier struggling to gain footing and turn himself around. Chas took advantage of the blue soldier's disability and shot forward across him, forcing the soldier to turn again. Chas made a quick look behind his back, to see the soldier was farther behind him than before. But he didn't have time to be relieved, because it was clear that the even though the blue soldier wasn't great at maneuvering, he was faster than Chas.

He jumped over a rock, and made a S curve through the trees. More blurs came at him at a frightening pace, and he frantically tried to find a clear path. Brambles and thorns snagged his clothes and slit through his skin.

Shit shit shit

Blood streamed out of his cuts, like some sick form of ribbons. The pain was awful, but he continued at his pace. Maybe going through the forest wasn't such a good idea he thought, dodging some tree branches.

Then it happened.

Out from the blurs came something that was horrendously clear.

The blue soldier, running side by side with Chas.

* * *

><p>Ree had never driven anything before.<p>

Which was probably why she crashed the water truck before she could even turn it around.

Her original plan was to drive to a road, wait until Em gathers the rest of the flock, ditch all tracking devices off the truck, steal the water out of it, and haul some booty out of there. But crashing the truck not even ten minutes into the plan pretty much ruined all aspects of it being successful.

As the front of the truck was being crushed by the strong walls of the dome like an aluminum can, Ree felt an out of body experience. She could see the truck's interior metal parts flying and the steering wheel dislodge. She saw herself closing her eyes, and the gossamer tone cover her skin, moments before the metal crushed her legs. She was propelled forward, and she was back in her body once again.

Ree didn't feel herself fly into the walls, nor she see it happen. Her eyes were closed for whatever reason, a strange habit she developed when she phased through things. But what gave it away was a moment of complete blackness through her eyelids, then a sudden a lighter tone. She opened her eyes, and she was back on the ground once more.

She lay still propped against a wall, her straight black hair draped over part of her face. She was completely dazed, and didn't notice she instinctively changed back into her regular skin. Her vision focused then unfocused, like someone was adjusting a camera lense. She blinked slowly, trying to organize her thoughts.

_I could have died. If I had a tablespoon of water for every time that almost happened I would never be thirsty again..._

She giggled, then stopped abruptly.

_No. No giggling._

That was when her vision finally cleared. Her thoughts suddenly became sharper as she came to a startling realization.

She did not crash into a desalination center.

* * *

><p><strong>Action scenes are hard! Grrrrr! I'm learning a lot from writing it though, so it's a fun experience, I guess. <strong>

**Anywho, you know the drill, read and review por favor! Thanks! **


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